Let Go
by Chikai Tenshi
Summary: How long do you wait before you let go? What if... what if Akane has had enough? What if she was tired of being in Ranma's shadow?
1. breaking point

_How long do you wait before letting go?_

    It was a good day, she decided. Tendo Akane took a deep breath and enjoyed the rare moment of silence, knowing that it was precious and fleeting. 

            "WHAT WAS THAT FOR, OLD MAN!"

   Expelling her breath in a gusty sigh, she moved to close the window, rolling her eyes at the red haired girl wrestling with a panda in the koi pond. Strange, she mused, how things like that could become so routine in her life. Well, at least no one could call it boring. 

            A smile lit her face, put a sparkle into her golden brown gaze. It was a smile that brought boys to their knees. Or in some special cases, it could cause boys to go home and dig various weapons out from their closets, or practice their _kata_ for hours in order to challenge her. It was certainly not a smile that could be brushed aside. Not even a certain pigtailed martial artist was immune to it. On the contrary, he was probably the one most affected.   

            But she did not know that. 

  Walking to her vanity table, she pulled out a brush and began to run it through her dark locks, scrutinizing her reflection in the cool mirror. Her hair was still short, the black locks falling softly around her ears. She had wanted to grow it out again, she remembered, the brush pausing in mid stroke. But Ranma had insisted in his own way, complete with blushes and stammers and insults, that he liked it better short. 

     "Akane! Breakfast!" Kasumi's voice jolted Akane out of her fantasies. Her smile was quieter now as she tucked a strand of hair out of her eyes. Laughing a bit for her daydreams, she made her way down the stairs. 

            "It's mine, ya old freak!" Ranma's voice was raised above the quiet chatter around the table. Happosai's heated response was lost as Nabiki reached in between the young fighter and the old master and snatched the piece of meat with her own chopsticks. 

   "If you two would stop glaring, you might eat a little bit more," she advised, speaking around a mouth full of rice. "Morons," she added for good measure.

  Laughing brightly at the two's horrified expressions, Akane settled into her usual spot next to Ranma and picked at her food. After listening to the musical tones of arguments, she rose again and went to get her jacket from the closet.

    "Akane, if you're going down to the studio, can you pick up some sweets for me?" Kasumi was more perceptive than most people gave her credit for.  

   "Sure, Kasumi! I'll be back around dinner."

Ranma's dark head shot up as he watched his fiancée shrug into a coat. His scowl did nothing to take away from his handsome face, no matter how dark. "I don't get why she has to spend all of her time at some stupid studio. She's never home anymore."

   Nabiki merely lifted a shoulder and shared a secret smile with her older sister as the door slammed. Yes, Kasumi was definitely brighter than people expected. 

  Choosing her words carefully, the oldest Tendo granted Ranma with one of her gentle smiles. "Akane needs a…hobby. Something to spend her time on."

   "She does not. She has…" Ranma trailed off, horrified that he almost blurted, "she has me" to the whole living room. "She has…friends," he finished lamely. 

            Nabiki rolled her eyes and stood to clear her plate. "Idiot."

     Kasumi moved swiftly to smooth over Nabiki's insult. "Ranma, Akane has been wanting to work with this artist for months. I think that you should be happy for her, that she has this new opportunity."

   Ranma gave a deceptively careless shrug and scowled even more darkly. "She won't even tell me why she's spending all hours of the day over at some studio."

            And that, he admitted, that had hurt the worst.

  Kasumi looked at him with searching eyes. Pleased with what she saw, she also stood to clear her plate and the remaining dishes. "All in due time, I suppose." 

     On her way to the kitchen, Kasumi spied Akane's school bag propped accusingly against the door. "Ranma, will you please bring Akane's bag to her room?" 

  With a grunt, Ranma threw the heavy bag- man, how could she have so much homework when he was in all of her classes- over his shoulder and leapt up to her room. 

            It was quiet without her presence, he noted, and still smelled faintly of her perfume. It irked him that he had the urge to just sit at her desk, on her bed, wherever, and do nothing. He was a martial artist, he reminded himself. Idleness was a waste.

   Dropping her bag on the desk, he turned to leave when a scrap of paper caught his eye. Curious, and not a bit guilty, he reached and pulled it out of her school bag. 

                        _Carlson and Bloom Modeling Inc._

_                        Professional photographer, Henry Bloom_

_                        Where all your dreams can come true!_

 Flipping it over, he found a short, messy scrawl. 

                        _Akane, baby, you're just what I've been looking for! The clothes will be at the studio. All you need to bring is that luscious body and that gorgeous face! Trust me, darling, we won't be able to keep the men off of you!_

_                                                Ciao,_

_                                                  Henry_

  Ranma stared at the card some more, blood rushing to his face. …_Keep the men off of you… luscious body… that gorgeous face… men off of you…men _on**Akane. **

 "The hell they are." Without a second thought, he leapt out of the window. 

      "Akane, baby!" Henry Bloom's cheery face beamed at her from behind the imposing lens. His blue eyes winked at her from behind designer frames as he showed off dazzling white teeth in a huge grin. "The camera loves you! You're a photographer's dream come true!" 

  Akane couldn't help but giggle as the clicking of the camera filled the room, a harmony to the rock music blasting out of the speakers. Henry had been lovely to her, and even though she had been wary at first of the handsome man who had approached her in the market, she now admitted to herself that taking that card was one of the best decisions of her life. Even, she admitted, if he did manage to turn every one of his statements into an exclamation. 

     "That's it! Keep that giggle!"

She showed off her smile as the lights dazzled her. She was in her own little slice of heaven. And if she still felt a little pebble of guilt that she hadn't told her fiancé, the music blared it away. Besides, she thought, I wanted something that did not have to do with Ranma, right? So here it is. 

            Goodness knows that her pigtailed knight in slightly shining armor would probably blow his top if he knew that she was working with all these male models. 

   One of said male models looked up and blew her a kiss. Akane blushed.

    _Make that gorgeous male models. Half naked gorgeous male models._

"Okay! Devon, get in there!"

The _gaijin_ that had blown her a kiss was positioned around her. Her blush was genuine as his strong arms wrapped around her slim waist, and his chin rested in the crook of her shoulder. Even the makeup artist's twitters and concerns did not register as her face flamed. 

    "Akane, honey! I need to see passion, not panic!" Henry admonished gently, positioning the camera and changing the lights. "This is your one and only, baby! Your fiancé! The man who you're going to marry! Devon, you want to lock her away and make passionate love to her for the rest of your life! Come on, people, work with me here! And someone change the music, for God's sake!" 

  The rock music died abruptly, before being replaced by a throbbing bluesy number that sang of heartbreak and rebirth. 

   "I want to lock you up and make passionate love to you for the rest of my life," Devon whispered into her ear, making her laugh. His Japanese was passable, for a _gaijin_. She was impressed. And his eyes were a rather nice shade of green, she thought. He had also succeeded in relaxing her.  The click of the camera faded out of her mind. 

            "Alright! Closer! I want to see the moment before everything happens, people!"

Akane's smile froze in place. _He doesn't mean…_

     "Come on, Akane! I want to see passion, passion, passion!" Henry's voice softened, smoothened as his finger pressed the shutter. "This is the man who you are going to spend the rest of your life with. A man who you love beyond all reason, no matter what."

     She looked up into Devon's face timidly, flushing beyond human capability. 

"Hey, don't worry," he tried to calm her. "Think of someone else, if it makes you feel better. Think of a boyfriend or something. Its like acting."

   "O-okay," she smiled tentatively. Devon leaned in, and his arms tightened around her waist ever so slightly. Her heart throbbed a little stronger; her breath came a little faster. Her eyes fell half shut, and she looked at him through a heavy lidded gaze. Henry's orders and commands fell on deaf ears.

            Devon's face melted away. It wasn't green eyes she saw, but blue gray ones. Not short, stylishly messy black hair, but long ebony locks gathered in a pigtail. It wasn't a gorgeous international model she saw, but _Ranma_. 

   It was Ranma, choosing her out of everyone else. It was Ranma, holding her in his arms, finally confessing his love for her. It was Ranma, whose lips were a mere breath away. She turned in his arms, lifting her face, laying her slim hands on his chest. 

   The pounding of her heart drowned the clicking of the shutters out. She could feel his warm breath on her face. _He was so close. So close. _It was everything that she had wanted for three years.  

     The mood shattered, and the image broke into pieces as the door slammed open. 

Startled by that and the ensuing chaos; still a little flushed, Akane turned in Devon's arms. _Oh, God._

   A boy stood in the center of the doorway, face positively livid as he looked around. Their eyes met. 

_            Ranma…_

   His eyes widened, showing hurt to whoever chose to look, before narrowing. His fiancée was in the arms of another guy. A guy, who was, he might add, not even fully dressed.  He was faintly surprised that steam hadn't erupted out of his ears. His Akane, _his Akane_, was no better. She was in an excuse for a dress, lacy and not leaving the deal of curves to a man's imagination, and showing off a great deal of slim, well muscled leg. 

            The cameraman's furious shouting, the crew's confused questions didn't register. He did not even see them. 

   "AKANE!"

She jumped slightly, her wide eyes getting even wider as he stalked forward. 

   She had stuff on, he noted in disgust. Magic woman things to deepen her eyes and moisten her lips. And sparkly things at her ears and a necklace that dropped down into the deep neck of the scrap of silk she had on. 

   "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

   The jerk that had his arms on his fiancée stepped up, a frown marring his features. "Hey. I don't know who you are, but I think you had better leave."

       Akane let out a slight gasp as stormy eyes widened in near bloodlust. "Get your hands off of her. NOW."

    Devon backed away, his hands in the air. "Hey, man. I think you need to calm down. This is a photo shoot."

     Ranma's gaze whipped to his, and he nearly shivered. The boy grabbed Akane's hand, pulling her with him as he stomped to the fallen door. She was too shocked to say a word in protest or pain. She had never seen him like this before. 

  "Akane, we are going home. Now."

    His words, low and intense in timbre, snapped her out of it. She began to struggle, and finally succeeded in freeing her hand. Ranma turned to her, his face baffled.

  "No."

"What!"

   "Ranma, I'm not done with the shoot. I can't go home."

"Akane, do not be stupid. We are going home!"

    He reached for her hand, and she yanked it away. His bewildered and slightly hurt gaze met hers. The studio was silent as her eyes welled with tears. 

  "Akane…"

  "No." She cut him off, and looked away. "Ranma…"

"Akane, what…?" 

   She lifted her eyes and stared at him, tears running down her cheeks freely. She struggled with her next words, opening and shutting her mouth a few times before taking a deep breath. His face darkened with annoyance, and he reached for her hand again. 

  "Akane, you're being an idiot. I'm taking you home!"

She yanked her hand away from his questing one once more and squared her shoulders. 

   "Ranma..." her voice broke slightly. "Ranma, I'm letting you go."

And his world fell apart.

_If I let you go, will I be all right in the end? Or will a part of me be let go as well?_


	2. enough

_If I hurt you, but don't mean it, does that still count?_

He tried to laugh and found himself failing. 

"What do you mean, you let me go?" 

She wouldn't look at him, refused to look at him, and his hand went to cover the sharp pain in his chest. "Akane."

He tried to reach for her, but couldn't move. 

"Akane."

She looked up, but wouldn't meet his gaze. She stood no more than a foot away, and yet...and yet she looked so out of reach, with crystal tears running down her face. Did I put those there, he thought dully. 

_I never really mean to..._

"Akane...what do you mean you let me go?"

"Ranma. You're free. You don't have to marry me anymore. I break the engagement."

Her voice sounded so tired. He shook his head no, surprising them both.

"Akane..." his voice broke, shaming him. She wouldn't meet his eyes, wouldn't even look up from the floor. A nameless emotion throbbed in his chest, one that Ranma didn't know how to decipher. Wouldn't decipher. Like crutches, his pride came to save him from devastation. 

"You...you stupid tomboy. _You _let _me _go? I was never yours to give up! You think that I would marry you? You actually think that I would marry the un-cute, macho fiancée?" 

He laughed. It sounded empty. Hollow. Lifeless. 

She met his eyes then. She looked up, and he stepped back involuntarily at the look in her eyes. Where was the fiery tomboy that he knew and... knew? Her golden brown eyes were dry, but they held an emotion that Ranma had never seen in them before. 

Defeat. She looked defeated. 

One of the crew members cleared his throat nervously, startling Ranma out of his stupor. He had forgotten that they were not alone.

"Akane..." What could he say? What was there to say?

She laughed, shaking her head slightly before turning away. The bitter sound sent shivers down Ranma's spine. _What was happening?_ He insulted her, she hit him, that was the way things were. That was the way they always have been. It was something that he had come to count on.

_So what was different?_

She hesitated, her body shaking slightly before she took a deep breath. Ranma felt his lips start to curl up. Maybe she would hit him after all. Maybe she was just gathering her energy...

_Maybe she still can forgive me..._

She looked back, smiling softly before gently taking his hand. Ranma cursed himself as he blushed, his heart accelerating against his will as she aimed her smile on him. 

Brushing a stray strand of hair away from his forehead, she continued to smile as she looked at his puzzled face. Something inside had crumbled, something had always given way when he said such things, but she did not care. If she felt empty, wasn't it better that way? 

_If I feel empty, at least that means that I can start over..._

"Ranma." 

He looked at her, trying to find something. She nearly laughed. He was trying to find something that she couldn't even find herself. Answers. 

"Ranma, I know that you don't love me. Wait-" she held up a hand before he could say anything in response. "Let me finish, please. I know that you don't love me. So I set you free, Ranma. I let you go." 

She turned away from him quickly, not trusting herself. Tears welled in her eyes quickly, and she ran blindly from the studio.

He didn't call her back. Somehow, in his heart, he knew that nothing he could say could fix what had just been broken. 

Akane stepped out into the unforgiving sun, tears blinding her vision as she let the heavy door slam shut behind her. Not trusting her unsteady legs to carry her very far, she leaned against the cold wall and sobbed into her hands. 

"What else was I to do?" she asked no one. "I can't live forever this way. I just can't!"

No one answered her. 

Her breathing erratic and harsh, she let out a small cry and kicked a stray soda can with all of her strength. 

A gasp was ripped from her as her ears caught the sharp yelp that followed as aluminum connected with flesh. Akane wiped her eyes furiously, jogging over to the prone form. As she crouched down beside the boy, spouting apologies, he raised groggy eyes to search her face.

"Akane...? Why are you crying?"

She smiled quietly, offering a hand to help him up. Oblivious to the door opening behind her, Akane fussed over the cut in his head, unaware of the silent tears that trailed down her cheeks. "Oh, Ryoga, it's a long story. Come on, let's get that cut looked at."

As the two walked away, a pair of blue eyes followed their every move. Ranma let the door shut soundlessly behind him, and leaned against the cool stone of the wall. 

"What's going to happen, Akane?" he asked her back quietly. "What's going to change?"

She didn't answer him. 

He sighed raggedly, watched until he couldn't see her anymore. And put his face in his hands.

  


_If I were to move on, would you let me?_


	3. aftermath

"What's going to happen, Akane?" Ranma asked her back quietly. "What's going to change?"

She didn't answer him.

He sighed raggedly, watched until he couldn't see her anymore. And put his face in his hands.

___If I were to move on, would you let me? _

_ How could I, if it mean that I would let you go?_

Time seemed to move unbearably slow as he sat at the dining room table, trying to keep his eyes off of the clock. The minute hand finally relinquished its hold and the boy jumped as the clock began to toll twelve rings which echoed throughout the house. _Idiot, idiot, idiot._ She wasn't home.

"Are you still up, Ranma?" He jerked slightly as Kasumi's hand gingerly touched his shoulder.

He tried to shrug it carelessly off, but his eyes gave him away.

"She's not home, Kasumi," he said softly, not wanting to look at the girl's eyes. "Where could she be, this late?"

"She called a little while ago," she replied, walking to the refrigerator. "She's staying over a friend's house."

Ranma's shoulders slumped, and he seemed to shrink. "Kasumi ...have...have you ever done anything that you know..."

"Would hurt anyone?" Kasumi offered, reaching up to gather a small carton of ice cream well hidden in the freezer corner. Gathering two spoons from the drawers, she handed the downcast boy on as a sign of peace. "Ranma..."

"It doesn't make sense!" he blurted out, digging his spoon violently into the chocolate. "We fight all the time. She yells, I yell, then she hits me, and we both go home. End of story!"

Kasumi took her time, thoughtfully letting the ice cream melt on her tongue. "Is that so?"

Ranma was too worked up to notice or care about the slight warning tone she held. "That's the way it always is!"

Kasumi watched silently as he shoved the spoon into his mouth. "Maybe that's the problem."

Ranma paused , and put the spoon down on the table. "Eh?"

"Well, take this ice cream for example," Kasumi suggested. "You like it enough, right?"

Ranma frowned, not knowing where this was going. "Yeah."

"But say you have it day after day, night after night." Kasumi smiled. "Then something that you've liked or grown accustomed to...it just isn't appealing anymore, no?

Ranma 's frown intensified. "Akane doesn't like ice cream?"

Kasumi lifted a slim eyebrow and fought the urge to dump the carton over the pigtailed boy's empty head. Finding her patience, she continued. "What I was trying to say, Ranma, is that people get tired of things. Akane is just tired of your routine. She's tired of getting hurt."

"I...I never mean to hurt her, Kasumi."

She rose, gathering their spoons and rinsing them in the sink. "You never mean to, Ranma. But that doesn't mean that you don't. And it doesn't make it any easier to bear."

"What should I do?"

Turning around, the older girl titled her head at the boy's saddened expression. Inevitably, her heart broke a little for him. Poor baby, she mused, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into.

"I can't answer that question, Ranma," she informed him. She turned, putting the spoons into the drawer and hiding the ice cream once more. "Sometimes you have to figure out how to fix things for yourself."

She gave him a light kiss on the cheek before leaving him to his thoughts.

Ranma sighed and got up to turn off the kitchen light. Looking at the shadowed room, he bit his lip and closing his eyes, said, "What if I can't?"

_What if I can't?_

Akane giggled as she walked to school, her backpack bumping gaily against her knees. "Ryoga, you actually did that?"

The boy blushed and showed off his fang in a grin. "Maybe. But, hey, how was I supposed to know that the carnival was in town?"

"I would still think that slicing off the rubber nose of a clown with your bandana..."

"He freaked me out!"

She burst out laughing once more. "The nerve of him! Offering you a balloon animal!"

He scowled lightly, deciding that it was a better idea not to tell her that the balloon creature had happened to be a pig. "I have severe problems with guys who wear make-up."

Akane just shook her head and continued to walk.

"ARGH! GET OFF OF ME!"

Ryoga frowned. "Isn't that Ranma's voice?"

Akane shrugged, but the light had slipped out of her eyes. "I guess Shampoo found him."

Ryoga turned around to see the pig tailed martial artist stumble with the amazon attached to his neck. Ranma looked up to meet the look in his rival's face. Ryoga held his gaze steady, even when Ranma's expression shifted into something that Ryoga couldn't identify.

"Messed up big time, did you?" he whispered. From the look on Ranma 's face, Ryoga guessed that he was able to read his lips. He smiled, letting the feeling of triumph spread slowly throughout his body. He savored the feeling. "Well, she's mine now."

And with that, he turned to catch up with the dark haired girl, leaving Ranma alone.

"Akane!"

She turned, smile in place, to see her former fiancée run up to her. "Yes, Ranma?"

Panting slightly, he looked up and offered a crooked grin. "Um ...you didn't come home last night."

Her smile never wavered as she entered the school yard. "I was over a friend's house. Didn't Kasumi tell you?"

"Yeah, but..." _But I always walk with you there._ Appalled by the near slip of the tongue, Ranma fell into silence. Akane gave him an odd look.

"But what, Ranma?"

Ranma opened his mouth to respond, but closed it on a groan as Ukyo bounced up next to him, chattering gaily about something or other.

"Ran-chan, I made lunch for you!"

"That's nice," he told her absently, bracing for the mallet he would no doubt find himself on the other end of. "Akane, its not..."

She cut him off gently, chuckling. "It's all right, Ranma. I'll see you in class."

Speechless, both Ukyo and Ranma watched the petit girl saunter into the classroom.

"What was that?" Ukyo asked him, her eyes questioning. "Did you and Akane...?"

Ranma forced a sad parody of his cheeky grin and shrugged, "Nah. She's just being Akane."

But even as Ukyo nodded in satisfaction and tugged his arm to get him to class, Ranma couldn't help thinking.

_Something wasn't right. It wasn't the same. What was wrong?_

"Sometimes you have to figure out how to fix things for yourself." Kasumi had told him.

But he had no idea how to even begin.

_If I loved you, would you take me?_

_ Would I know how to?_


	4. Consequences

_Would you listen to me if I told you I cared?_

_...Or is it too late for the truth?_

* * *

"Is it true? Did Ranma and Akane really break up?" 

The student body was abuzz with rumors.

"What happened?"

"Who ended it?"

"I always thought that she hit him a little too much..."

"It's about time she dumped his butt..."

And the inevitable question...

"Does that mean that Akane's free?"

Ranma's head jerked up, his eyes lit with barely contained fury. Damn it, no one was holding Akane like the stupid _gaijin_ pretty boy had yesterday. He'd kill them. She was...

_She wasn't his anymore. _

His eyes dimmed, but he bristled. "Feh. It isn't like she was mine to begin with anyway," he muttered.

"What was that, Ranma?" Akane hummed lightly as they walked home from school. "I wasn't listening."

He blanched. What the heck was he supposed to tell her? "I..I was saying that I was hungry."

She laughed lightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Trust you. I'm not really hungry. Why don't you go to Ukyo's or the Nekohaten and I'll see you at the house later?"

_But we always go together._

"Fine...okay. Later."

She smiled and turned in a different direction. Ranma felt something inside of him clench as he watched her go.

"Wait!"

She turned, her face expectant. "Yes, Ranma?"

"I...do you want me to bring something home?" Ranma asked hesitantly. "I mean, since Kasumi might be out, and I don't want anyone dying because of your cooking or nothin'. Because it's bad. Or..." His voice trailed off, pathetic.

There was a silence, marked only by his waiting intake of breath.

She was going to hit him now. He could feel it. And then everything would be fine again.

Akane smiled but the light didn't quite seem to reach her eyes. "Have fun."

"Yeah...fun..." Ranma watched her walk away. His own words sounded in his mind, mocking.

_Everything would be fine again. _

* * *

"Akane?" Ranma called her name as he entered the house. He had lost his appetite after they had parted, and he decided against going to either Ucchan or Shampoo's place. He had just walked around, trying to clear his head. "Akane!" 

"Well, well, well," Nabiki drawled from the corner, a predatory light shining in her narrowed eyes. "If it isn't Ranma."

He backed away slowly, not quite trusting the look she sent him. "H-hi, Nabiki..."

She bared him her teeth in reply. "You bellowed?"

"Oh, heh," Ranma chuckled nervously and placed his hand behind his head. "I..I guess I'm looking for Akane."

"She's not here." Nabiki sent him a disgusted glance as she brushed past him. "She went out."

"What? Where!"

"Out."

"Nabiki, answer me!" Ranma grasped her arm, a scowl on his face. "It's late, I've had a weird day, and I'm not in the mood for one of your games."

Her laughter was surprising, and he loosened his grip in his shock. "You know what? That's funny, coming from you. Akane went out. Considering that she finally found the guts to admit that she's had enough of you and your harem, I don't think that its really any of your business where or with who she's with right now."

"What do you mean with who?"

Nabiki only shrugged. "Oops."

"Nabiki, with who?"

She turned and started to walk away. "It doesn't matter, really."

Ranma gripped the Tendo girl's arm and whirled her around. "Damn it, Nabiki, with who!"

The older girl smiled slowly, and it was sharp enough to kill. "What do you care, Ranma? She's not your fiancee anymore, remember?"

Ranma snarled and forced himself to remember that he didn't hit girls. "Nabiki– "

Kasumi walked by, a slight frown on her face as she turned to face the boy. "She went out, Ranma." Her soft eyes darkened with disapproval. "Ryoga came by and took her out for a walk. They left about an hour ago. Akane had said that you were getting lunch somewhere else. Either Shampoo's or Ukyo's."

Nabiki smirked and turned away.

Ranma turned to Kasumi for a kinder visage, but was met only by her disappointed face.

"Good night, Ranma," she murmured.

And then she walked away, leaving Ranma with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

"_Tadaima!"_ Akane blew her hair out of her eyes as she bent down to remove her shoes. The house was dark and silent, and the girl fought down a shiver of apprehension. 

_Everyone must be out._

Which meant no Ranma. Akane sighed in relief.

"_Oi."_

Akane shrieked, whirling around to face the glaring boy. He sat, long legs sprawled out in front of him, blue eyes hard.

"Oh, hi, Ranma," she giggled nervously. His face darkened considerably. Her heartbeat sped up even as her mind screamed for her feet to move faster towards the stairs.

_Run, Akane-chan! Run for it and never look back!_

"Akane."

"Fancy that you're still up." Her voice was breathy.

He stiffened, and she winced. "Do you know what time it is?" His voice was smooth and low. She didn't trust the timbre.

"Uhm, no?" She let out a nervous giggle. "Time for a bath? I'm really sweaty; it is _so_ hot out there–"

"Damn it, Akane, it's midnight!" Ranma leapt up from the couch, his eyes blazing. He jabbed an accusing finger in the shorter girl's face. "Where the hell were you?"

"Oh, I must have lost track of the time," she murmured, shaking her watch next to her ear. "I should go to the mall and get the batteries--"

"AKANE!"

"Ranma, I'm home. I'm fine. I wasn't mugged. I don't see how--"

"Akane! Answer me, damn it! Where were you?"

She bristled in annoyance, her eyes snapping. But her words were low and even. "Why do you care?"

"I DON'T!" he bellowed. "WHERE WERE YOU?"

Her hands itched for her mallet, but she suddenly realized that she was too tired to argue. "I was out."

Ranma could feel his jaw clench. He worked to keep the strain out of his voice. "With who?"

She answered his belligerence with softness. "Ryoga-_kun._"

So Nabiki had been telling the truth. Ranma muttered a soft oath as he felt his hands curl into shaking fists.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you go with him?"

Well, Akane mused, this night was full of surprises. "He asked me."

"Did you," Ranma swallowed hard. "Did you tell him?"

Akane was too drained to bother pretending like she misunderstood. "No. No, I didn't tell him that I had broken our engagement. We spoke of other things."

Ranma fell back onto the couch. Akane watched him, her eyes somber.

"What would it matter?" she whispered. The sound echoed in the silence.

"I– It doesn't matter," Ranma retorted. "It's not like I care or nothin'."

Akane nodded and turned away, running a pale hand through her hair.

"Why...why didn't you say anything after school?" Ranma murmured. "When I made fun of your cooking. Why didn't you do anything?"

Akane turned around in sheer amazement. She felt the insane urge to laugh. Or cry.

"You're asking me why I _didn't hit_ you?"

Ranma shrugged self-consciously. "It's not like I'm worried or nothin'. I mean, I just want to know how long I can celebrate. Or whatever."

She started up the stairs to her room, trailing a small hand on the smooth wood of the stair railing. "Ranma, don't worry."

"I wasn't."

She lifted an eyebrow at his sullen tone, but didn't turn. "I meant what I said. You don't have to marry me. You don't have to pretend. Not anymore."

"Yeah..." Ranma whispered, his eyes sad as he watched the girl walk away. For some odd reason, he felt as if he were losing something.

"Yeah," he repeated, sinking further into the couch cushion. "Yeah, not anymore."

* * *

_Author's Note_

Hey, guys! Wow, its been a while since I've updated _any_ of my other fics. I've been so preoccupied with _I'll Give You Forever_ that I've nearly forgotten about everything else! Not to worry, though. The next chapter of _Forever_ is going to be long-- I'm nearly done with it now. And then I'm moving onto _Black Heart_.

And trust me, I won't let Ranma flounder in his misery for long! Well...maybe for a _little_ while longer...'tis good for the soul, you know. wink

_Next chapter: Ryoga finally figures out the big picture. Time for some action! _

Until next time!


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